Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH COLONIAL LITERATURE
Her captivity lasted eleven weeks and ve days, during which time the Algonquians
walked up to Chestereld, New Hampshire and back to Princeton, Massachusetts.
There, Rowlandson was ransomed for twenty pounds in goods. In 1677, her family—
including the surviving children taken captive along with Rowlandson—moved to
Wetherseld, Connecticut where Joseph Rowlandson had acquired a position as
minister. He died in 1678; one year later, Rowlandson married Captain Samuel
Talcott. She remained in Connecticut, where she died in 1711.
Soon after her release from captivity and before her rst husband died,
Rowlandson began to write of her experiences with the Native Americans.
Published in 1682, her memoir became immensely popular as a captivity
narrative, a popular genre in the seventeenth century. These captivity narratives
record stories of individuals who are captured by people considered as uncivilized
enemies, opposed to a Puritan way of life.
Much of their popularity stemmed from their
testimony of the Puritan God’s providence.
Rowlandson’s narrative adheres to Puritan
covenantal obligations, alludes to pertinent
Biblical exemplum, and nds God’s chastising
and loving hand in her suering and ultimate
redemption. Her suffering includes fear,
hunger, and witnessing the deaths of other
captives. She describes the Native Americans
as savage and hellish scourges of God. She
acclaims the wonder of God’s power when
these same Native Americans oer her
food, help her nd shelter, and provide her
with a Bible. Her rhetorical strategies and
the ambivalences and ambiguities in her
account—particularly in regards to cultural
assimilation, cross-cultural contact, and
gender issues of social construction of
Image 2.10 | King Phillip or Metacom
Artist | S. G. Drake
identity, voice, and authority—contribute to
Source | Wikimedia Commons
its continuing popularity to this day.
License | Public Domain
2.9.1 From The Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson
(1682)
Preface
The sovereignty and goodness of God, together with the faithfulness of his
promises displayed, being a narrative of the captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson, commended by her, to all that desires to know the Lord’s doings to,
and dealings with her. Especially to her dear children and relations. The second
Addition [sic] Corrected and amended. Written by her own hand for her private
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